Floral Friend
by btamamura
Summary: Albert's old friend Andre le Notre has always been intrigued by flowers.


**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Albert the Fifth Musketeer or the characters._

**Notes: **_**And now for a bit of a story about Albert's history with Andre le Notre, who appeared in the episode **__Her Majesty's Garden__**. I mentioned in a previous story that I think that Andre may be a childhood friend of Albert's, but since we don't know Andre's age, I decided to make him three years older than Albert.**_

_**I believe Andre had always had an interest in flowers and gardening, which is why even as a child, they amaze him. The final line in the story was actually Albert's quote at the very end of **__Her Majesty's Garden__**, it was too lovely to not include. I hope you enjoy this story!**_

The area Albert grew up in was very quiet, very few people lived there. Even then, houses were at least two miles apart, so if someone wanted to borrow some milk from their neighbour, they'd have to take a decent walk down the road.

Because of that, he was not expecting to see a boy about his age running down the road. No matter how quiet the area was, some parents feared for the safety of their children, including Albert's own parents, so the children were often encouraged to stay as close to home as possible.

The five-year-old blond jogged over to the other boy. "Hey!"

The light-brunette paused in his steps and looked over to the owner of the voice that got his attention. His eyes widened when he spotted the blond boy, and he ran over to him. "There are other kids after all!"

"Where is your home? Is it far away?" Albert asked the boy, looking up at him.

"Um...I think so. I ran since this morning."

"Really?"

"Yep! I found something pretty that I wanted to show someone else, but I didn't know there were other kids here."

"You're the first boy I've seen. Because everyone is too far away, I don't see many people."

"My name is Andre. Andre le Notre. What's yours?"

"Albert de Parmagnan."

"Nice to meet ya, Albert!"

He smiled shyly and nodded. "You too, Andre."

"Hey, can you come with me to see the pretty thing?"

"I'll have to ask Maman and Papa. They don't like me going too far without them knowing."

"Okay!"

"Come on in." He led the taller child into the small cottage.

Philbert smiled. "So, you've found a friend?"

Albert nodded. "Papa, this is Andre le Notre."

"Nice to meet you, Monsieur de Parmagnan," Andre greeted happily.

"You too, Petit Andre."

"Papa, Andre wanted to show me something, but it's far away. Am I able to go with him?" Albert asked.

Philbert looked a little troubled at that. "How far away are we talking about?"

"I don't know. I found it this morning near my house and I ran down the road since then, hoping to find someone else to show it to," Andre explained.

"How old are you?"

"Eight years old, Monsieur."

Albert looked up at the boy. "You're older than me?"

"Maman and Papa would never let me out if I was too young."

Philbert nodded. "It's alright with me, but ask your mother first, Albert."

"Okay! Merci, Papa!" Albert thanked, excitement in his tone. He led Andre through the cottage.

After introducing Andre to his mother, Albert asked if it was okay for him to go with the older boy to see what he wanted to show. With his mother's permission, he was able to leave, and so, both boys ran down the road.

Andre noticed Albert was tiring after three minutes of running. "Well, you are still little." He stopped and knelt down. "I'll give you a piggyback ride until you don't feel tired."

"But, I am a big boy, I'm nearly six!"

Andre chuckled. "And even big boys know to take a break when they're exhausted."

"Okay." He climbed onto the older boy's back, and wrapped his arms around his neck, holding on tightly, but not tight enough to strangle Andre.

"Okay, here we go!" Andre did not run, it was hard to with extra weight. But, he did keep a brisk walking pace as he carried the younger boy.

After thirty minutes, they finally arrived where Andre had made his discovery that morning. "Here we are." He knelt down so Albert could climb off his back carefully.

Albert looked around, but didn't see what Andre meant. "Where is it?"

"Right here. I'd never seen so many flowers around here before, so when I found this place, I knew I had to show someone."

He stared at the flowers of differing colours and sizes. "They are pretty."

"Told ya!" He sat down and gestured for the younger boy to do so as well. "I've always liked flowers. Maman grows them in our backyard, but because of my habit of picking them, she told me not to go near them, not until I was able to appreciate them where they were. I didn't understand what she meant at first, but I soon understood. Seeing these flowers here, where they belong, it's special."

"Why?"

"Because no matter what anybody does to make a nice garden, in the end, seeing flowers in nature makes the best garden."

"Hmm?"

Andre chuckled and patted the top of Albert's head affectionately. "You'll understand someday, Albert."

Ten years later, Andre was ready to leave the small country village. They shook hands, and Andre told him where he was going to live. "It's a really dry and barren place, so I'm thinking of bringing it some colour."

"With flowers, correct?"

"Yes. Nobody will be able to miss my home, it will be the most vibrant place in the whole desert!"

"I will have to come by and see it then."

"Be sure that you do. Hey, you've been training to become a Musketeer, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, that means when you're ready, you'll be going to Paris. I'm on the way, you should stop by on your trip. Paris is very far from here after all, you can have a rest at my house, and we can catch up again."

"I will be certain to keep it in mind. Au revoir, mon ami."

"Au revoir." Andre climbed onto the back of his horse and kicked in his heels, telling it to move forwards.

The fifteen-year-old stayed in the same place until he could no longer see a sign of his longtime friend.

"Oh la la!" He pulled back on the reins, causing his mule to cease moving. "Andre was not lying when he said he was going to make his home the most vibrant place in the desert!" With a gentle kick of his heels, the mule moved onwards.

Andre smiled when he saw his old friend again. "You came after all! I was beginning to think you weren't going to!"

"And miss a chance to see my old friend? Never!" He shook hands with him. "You've been working very hard these last three years."

"Yes, it has been a challenge to get some of these flowers to grow, but it's been well worth the work."

"It looks that way."

"I want to recreate the same feeling of seeing that small field of flowers back in our home village, but I know I won't."

"Because in the end..."

"...there's no other flower garden more beautiful than nature itself."

The blond nodded.

"Even so, I'm going to fill this garden with colour, to make it just a beautiful as that field of flowers."

"I wish you the best of luck, mon ami."

"Merci beaucoup. Now then, Paris is still a fair way to go, you can stay here for the night, if you'd like to."

"It is very much appreciated. Merci beaucoup."

"I should have some food for your mule too."

The next morning, Albert had to set off on his journey. "I thank you for the hospitality you offered, and I would love to stay a little longer, but I must get to Paris."

"It's alright, I'm just glad I was able to see my old friend and catch up again." He held out his hand, and felt Albert grip it. "I wish you the best in your days as a Musketeer. Come by again, whenever you can."

"I will. Merci, mon ami." The handshake ended. "Best of luck with your garden, Andre."

"Merci." He watched as Albert mounted his mule and rode off.

Albert did see Andre again, two years later. But, it wasn't for a casual visit. He needed the expertise of his old friend's gardening skills to help revive the Queen's garden after the Guards tricked the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan into trampling through it, thus destroying it.

He was truly impressed with Andre's efforts after five years. It was clear he was definitely the best person to ask for help with this matter.

Following the mission, Albert saw Andre more frequently, but it wasn't because he paid a visit to the older man's small cottage in the desert, it was because Andre was working as a gardener in the Louvre. He was able to see that Andre's green thumb still hadn't failed him, he made the gardens the envy of all palaces in Europe.

Even so, when they both had time off from their duties, they took a ride out to a large field of flowers just outside the city and looked upon them, even picking one or two and sniffing them. After all, they both still felt that with all said and done, there's no other garden more lovely than nature itself.


End file.
